Seven Swords of Mt Tian Drama Serial Camera-Rolling Inauguration

Compiled from Jinlin Evening News, Beijing Morning News, Shanghai Evening News, Beijing Star Daily, Hangzhou City Express, Chengdu Daily, East Day
Dated 8 to 9 August 2004
 

Liang Yu Sheng Sends Well-Wishes by Proxy

The inauguration began with a swordplay performance by three actors, followed by Yu Cheng Hui, who plays the erudite physician Fu Qing Zhu, showing his skills with the brush by writing Seven Swords Descend Mt Tian. After that, Tsui Hark appeared, raised a rare sword, marking the commencement of the filming of Seven Swords of Mt Tian, produced by Oriental View; he declared, "We will be developing seven cultural programmes of Seven Swords of Mt Tian including TV series, movie, etc. The TV series, which represents the first of the Seven Swords, is now unleashed!"

Author of the original novel has been especially concerned about the preparation and shooting of this work. Liang Yu Sheng, who was recuperating in Australia due to health reasons, was unable to attend the ceremony. However, he had a video pre-recorded to relay his message, "I have always wished to see this novel being brought to screen, I am very glad to see it happening now. That Cheung Sing Yim has managed to persuade Tsui Hark to helm the project has greatly put my mind at ease. I wish Seven Swords of Mt Tian a resounding success."

That the vice-chairman of Guangdian Zhongju TV Station Wang Wei Ping, and CCTV's chief manager Wang Guo Hui also came personally was a great surprise to the reporters. Wang Wei Ping said, with such a formidable cast and crew, I believe the outcome would be transcendental. Wang Guo Hui indicated that CCTV was willing to buy the broadcast rights in advance as they have great faith in Cheung Sing Yim and Tsui Hark, believing that Seven Swords of Mt Tian will be extremely popular throughout China, and would set the standard for other wuxia series. Director Wong Jing, who’s filming another Oriental View’s project, a TV adaptation of Gu Long’s The Legendary Siblings starring Dicky Cheung and Nicholas Tse, also came to show his support.


Cheung Sing Yim’s Dream is Finally Realised

40 years ago, Cheung Sing Yim's Jade Bow created a major stir in Hong Kong. However, when Cultural Revolution started, wuxia movies were disallowed in China. It wasn't until after Cultural Revolution did he film Shaolin Temple.

Tsui Hark and Cheung Sing Yim have admired each other for years but regrettably did have the chance to collaborate. Now, their 20-year old wish has been fulfilled. They are creating a brand new wuxia TV series together. Tsui Hark felt that this was no easy task since Seven Swords of Mt Tian is a classic of Liang Yu Sheng.

Seeing the prevalence of Jin Yong adaptations in China, Cheung Sing Yim felt sorry for Liang Yu Sheng, his good friend, "Actually, Liang Yu Sheng novels are also very compelling. There can't be only Jin Yong." And so, he looked up his old friend Tsui Hark, and mooted the idea, "I wish to make Seven Swords of Mt Tian, but I fear I can't handle it alone. Could you help me with this work?" Tsui Hark agreed at once. As Cheung Sing Yim brought this up, he bowed to Tsui Hark, Tsui Hark hastily got up and bowed back to his mentor, "Without the guidance of Cheung Sing Yim, I wouldn't have entered the wuxia world."

However, the scripting phase met with various turbulences. "We have been delaying for ages, and changed numerous scriptwriters, for those people couldn't meet Tsui Hark's expectations. Liang Yusheng novels were written 50 years ago, Tsui Hark hopes to inject fresh, new elements, as well as fortifying the literature of the work."

As Cheung Sing Yim is getting on in years, Seven Swords of Mt Tian will be his last work before his retirement. Tsui Hark shoulders the responsibility of scriptwriting, casting and location scouting. Having travelled around the region for the past two years, Tsui Hark remarked, "Xinjinag is indeed a land of wuxia." Tsui Hark, who is usually a modest person, made a bold statement this time, "I'd rather not take up this project, if it doesn't surpass New Dragon Inn or Once Upon a Time in China."


Tsui Hark Takes Care of Every Aspect of the Production

Tsui Hark does everything personally, including costume designs. Based upon the descriptions of the original novel and by drawing references from contemporary elements, Tsui Hark painted the costumes of the characters. This design had been fixed at February, and then it passed through the hands of several costume designers. At the inauguration, two newcomers from a dance academy showed Tsui Hark's ability in costume design. This design, which aptly carried desert feel, was presented before everyone's eyes for the first time, showed how ambitious Tsui Hark was.

Tsui Hark said he had a major influence on shaping the adaptation, "I feel that the essence of the original novel has to be retained, but there are lots of rooms to be filled. The addition of content is where the risk lies." Tsui Hark thought that he had a very deep understanding of this work, when he was young, he loved to read this novel. The characters in the novel are as familiar to him as old pals, "I believe my creation will bring about a delightful surprise to the audience."

"I am most revolted by exaggeration; I believe Seven Swords of Mt Tian has to pay attention to the content, the script. The wuxia movies nowadays have been overdone, though the methods they employ to do filming are worth studying. The content in wuxia adaptations should be the topmost priority." Tsui Hark believed that the root of wuxia lies in the way of life, "I am still a traditional wuxia fan, and have always loved reading wuxia novels since young. So, I focus on espousing the traditional wuxia ethos. I am unable to accept those modern wuxia movies that have drifted too far way from wuxia spirit." He believes that when adapting a wuxia novel, "It's not sufficient just by sticking rigidly to the original, one must offer one's own understanding. Such as adapting Jin Yong, we can't amend it in whichever way we deem fit simply because they are pugilists, wuxia must also be viewed from the standpoints of human aspects."


Cheung Sing Yim Recommends Jet Li to Tsui Hark

On meeting a good actor, Chueng Sing Yim would try ways and means to promote them, "After finishing Shaolin Temple, I knew that, given my limited ability and financial resources, I couldn't give this actor a bright future. So, I introduced Jet Li to Tsui Hark. I have always admired Tsui Hark's presentation, I knew he would give Jet Li very good opportunities." And it turned out as expected, from Once Upon a Time in China to Swordsman 2, etc, Tsui Hark was definitely the one to fully uncover Jet Li's talents in his early days.
Tsui Hark also felt that it is important to nurture new talents, he once said to newcomers, "Our times have passed, you must work hard."

During the lengthy period of preparations, Tsui Hark showed thorough care for newcomers: When the new blood's viewpoints and behaviour were tending towards the erroneous side, Tsui Hark had wanted to point out directly, but still, he swallowed his words, "I am the authority, what I say, you would definitely do, however, you wouldn't be able to discover where the problems lies. I hope you would work with me, you'd follow me, so that you'd grow."


Forging Seven Swords; Creating New Wuxia Wave

Be it Once Upon a Time in China, New Dragon Inn, or The East is Red, as long as a wuxia movie comes from Tsui Hark's hands, almost all of them have become cult classics. He's definitely full of aspirations and zeal as he bears the commander's seal for Seven Swords of Mt Tian.

Tsui Hark said, "After accepting this work, I eventually decided to tackle wuxia from the literature point of view. Nowadays, movies and TV series are becoming more and more exaggerated, and lack the way of life as foundation. I will demonstrate different wuxia cultures through Seven Swords of Mt Tian, applying various techniques, inventing an all new wuxia style. The action choreography would be emphasising the practical aspects of swordplay and wushu, would pursue fatality rather than flowery decorations."

Tsui Hark is especially fascinated with swords, "The most intriguing weapon in Chinese wuxia culture is sword. How a sword is wielded is the union of the cultivation of (wo)man and sword, it's a kind of discipline, and swordplay is also a personification of a person's personality." As all begins with sword, Seven Swords of Mt Tian calls forth various real life top-drawer swordsmen like Yu Cheng Hui, Sun Jian Kui, Xu Xiang Dong etc, seeking new forms in swordplay.

Tsui Hark, based on his interpretation of wuxia, designed seven swords for the series: Gallivanting Dragon, Green Dehydration, Never Enquiring, Sun and Moon, Nemesis, Heavenly Cascade, God Relinquishing, which will be assigned to Chu Zhao Nan, Yang Yun Cong, Fu Qing Zhu, Xin Long Zi etc. The seven priceless swords were forged by Dhyana Master Hui Ming at Mt Tian, based upon seven different realms. The Seven Swordmasters, each with their own personalities, roam the pugilistic world carrying these seven swords, doing a series of earthshaking deeds. Mao Wan Lian, Yi Lan Zhu, Gui Zhong Ming etc would appear in the second segment of TV series while their first generation become the key characters in the first part.


The Cast

Veteran and famous actors and actresses are enlisted to play the Seven Swords, Zhao Wen Zhuo and Sang Wei Lin, who have worked with Tsui Hark before, will play Chu Zhao Nan and Wu Yuan Ying respectively, Wang Xue Bing will play Yang Yun Cong, Yu Cheng Hui will play Fu Qing Zhu, Ji Chun Hua, who has often been cast as villain, will play Xin Long Zi, newcomers Qian Zhen Yu and Wang Li Kun will play Mu Lang and Liu You Fang.

Apart from the Seven Swords, other important roles include Flying Red Shawl, played by Ada Choi, while Ray Lui will play the villain Duo Duo, Li Xiao Ran will play Nalan Minghui, Edell Ai Dai plays Lu Zhi, Patrick Tam cameos as Emperor Shunzhi. Liu Ye, Guo Jin An, and Leung Ka Yan will play cameo roles.

Tsui Hark explained his reason for choosing Zhao Wen Zhuo as the lead Chu Zhao Nan, “I have no doubts about Zhao Wen Zhuo's acting. I chose him this time not because I have worked with him before but felt that he fits the character aptly. Besides having martial arts ability, he's also charming and handsome.”

Ada Choi expressed that she will give top priority to her role as Flying Red Shawl, "I love this character very much, I hope to have more time to do it. I will stay in Xinjiang for two months. In October, I am returning to Hong Kong to deal with some work and will later proceed to Hengdian for further filming."


Beginning with the First 38 Episodes

Producer Wang Yong, explains the reason: “The script for the first segment, comprising 38 episodes, has been completed, so we will firstly be shooting the first 38 episodes. The first 38 episodes are about the Seven Swordmasters of the first generation. We have already made plans for filming of the second half, and the script is basically done. We aren't making sequels, neither are we filming the first 38 episodes to test the market response before deciding if we would continue. We will shoot the second segment early next year. When the first segment is being broadcast in summer, the second segment will be in post-production, and will be in time to be aired once the first segment finishes.

“We will mainly be employing a new batch of actors and actresses for the second segment, as the cast members for the first segment might have other commitments, and in the second segment, they are of less significance, with intermittent appearances.”

The first segment, comprising 38 episodes, of Seven Swords of Mt Tian TV series expects to wrap up in December and to be aired on CCTV in next summer. Meanwhile, Tsui Hark is still making amendments to the script.

Photos: Yangtse News, ChinaNews

[ Main ]